Occupational health and safety news and guidance

A waste collection firm has appeared in court after poor safety
measures led to a worker falling from the top of a truck in Blackburn.

Neales Waste Management Ltd. was prosecuted by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE) after a 44-year-old employee fell four metres to the
ground while trying to remove waste that had become stuck on the roof of
a collection vehicle.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard the worker from Blackburn had been helping to empty a skip at Walker
Industrial Park on 7 September 2010 when the
incident happened.

The employee climbed up some metal bars on the truck to reach the
stuck waste and fell when the access fixings gave way. He suffered a
broken right elbow and damage to his left foot.

The HSE investigation found that the company had allowed workers to use the metal bars to
reach the top of the vehicle, despite them not being designed for this
purpose.

The court was told waste often became stuck on the roofs of vehicles
while the contents of overfilled skips were being emptied. But the firm
did not have a safe procedure in place for
removing the stuck waste.

Neales Waste Management Ltd admitted breaching Section 2(1) of the
Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety
of employees. The company, of Walker Road in Guide, Blackburn, was fined
£15,000 and ordered to pay £11,661 in prosecution costs on 29 November
2011.